---
title: Romans 2:9
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-2-9/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-2-9.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Romans 2:9
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Romans 2:9

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "There will be tribulation and distress on every person who works what is harmful, on the Jew first and also on the Greek"

## JW Usage

Watchtower commentary takes Romans 2:9 as describing the judgment that falls on the wicked: tribulation and distress on every person who works what is harmful, "Jew first and also Greek." The verse is read as confirming the universal scope of judgment and the impartiality of Jehovah — every person is accountable for their works.

## Protestant Usage

V9 continues Paul's prosecutorial setup with universal scope. "Jew first and also Greek" sweeps in everyone — no ethnic or organisational exemption. The verdict in Romans 3:23 will say it plainly: "all have sinned." So v9's "tribulation and distress on every person who works what is harmful" applies to every person without Christ. The universal sweep of Paul's prosecution sets up the universal scope of his rescue: "to everyone having faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (1:16). The same language brackets condemnation and salvation. The gospel is as wide as the wrath.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Doers of the Law — Romans 2:13](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/romans2-13-doers-justified.md) — Paul's principle vs Paul's conclusion [Salvation]